Miss Claire

Claire also had a pretty awesome accomplishment.  She made the ELITE kick and jazz teams for her dance studio!!  She is one of 3 freshman who made the high school team and she's doing amazing!

I have watched her work her butt off for the last year with that particular goal in mind.  Practicing twice a week with her dance team and then coming home and practicing more.  Practicing hours every single night on her turns, her jumps, her routines.  Stretching, stretching and stretching more to get her splits.  Tons of kicks to get the height she needed and the stamina to blow through a routine with a smile on her face and not breaking a sweat.

She is graceful, she is poised, she is confident and she is beautiful to watch.  When she is doing her lyrical routines I have wiped more than one tear from my face.

The funny thing about Claire is she has tried a lot of things.  Baseball, soccer, ice skating, acting, singing and dancing.  She did it, she enjoyed it and I'd ask, "do you want to do it again" and she'd shrug and say "sure" most of the time.  Dance took a turn for her when she was old enough to compete.  She was always a good dancer but she didn't seem to have that drive to win.  I told her that if she didn't want to win and wasn't willing to leave it all on the dance floor that she was letting her team down because you are judged by your worst dancer and if you aren't giving 110%, you are the worst dancer in my opinion no matter how well you dance.  The light bulb turned on and a competitive dancer was born.  She brings everything to every performance and has a lot of ribbons to show for it.

This year starts a whole new level and the next four years are going to be a wild ride but this girlie is buckled up and ready!